Scientists test new biological substitutes for toxic pesticides

Last spring, a young beet plant grew on Norfolk farm, which could easily be mistaken for a land art installation, because the blue and red rectangles decorated the land.
Beet continues: “Camouflage cutting” uses dyes to make beet crops more difficult to be detected by aphids.
In fact, this is an experiment of a new method to protect crops from pests, which is called “camouflage planting”. This is just one of a large number of non-chemical methods currently being tested or used as a substitute for toxic pesticides (such as neonicotinoids). For environmental reasons, the use of these pesticides is increasingly restricted all over the world, so new methods are needed.
Camouflage involves spraying non-toxic fabric or food coloring in the field-covering the soil and seedlings-to reduce the color difference between bare soil and beet leaves. Aphids depend partly on this color contrast to stay on crops. These insects can be a devastating pest to beet growers, not because they eat leaves, but because they spread a group of plant pathogens called virus yellow.
It is unlikely that the first-year camouflage planting experiment will give a definite result, because the weather pattern in summer is unusual, including unusually hot and dry. But it will continue next year, said David Jones, the farm manager of Morley Agricultural Foundation, which is hosting a trial for British Beet Research Organization (BBRO).
However, dye is not the only way to cut camouflage. Another method is to disguise young beet plants by sowing barley to cover the soil. Grain camouflage planting was also tested in Morley.
Camouflage planting is part of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system to protect sugar beet from aphids, which BBRO is developing with the support of Defra, the food and agriculture department of the British government. The whole project is called ABCD of Aphids IPM, and its leader Alistair Wright said.


Post time: Oct-24-2022